ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – The University of West Alabama volleyball team went 2-0 on Friday at the Reddie-Tiger Invitational, sweeping LeMoyne-Owen before battling past host Henderson State in five sets at the Duke Wells Center.
West Alabama opened the day with a 3-0 (25-19, 25-12, 25-12) victory over LeMoyne-Owen before earning a 3-2 (25-19, 20-25, 25-17, 25-27, 15-10) win over Henderson State.
The pair of victories improved the Tigers to 5-1 overall.
West Alabama 3, LeMoyne-Owen 0
West Alabama controlled the opening match offensively and from the service line, hitting .446 with 31 kills and just six errors while recording 14 service aces.
Katerina Korre paced the Tigers with nine kills on 13 attempts without an attack error, finishing with a .692 hitting percentage.
Mia McGuire added five kills on six swings for an .833 percentage, while
Rachele Zanini totaled four kills and a team-high 17 assists.
After LeMoyne-Owen erased an 18-13 deficit to tie the opening set at 18, West Alabama responded by scoring seven of the final eight points. Klára Bobánová helped spark the closing run before Zanini finished the set with a kill to give UWA a 25-19 win.
The Tigers wasted little time taking control of the second set. Three consecutive Korre service aces helped UWA race out to a 4-0 advantage, and the lead grew to 13-4 following kills from McGuire, Zanini and Korre. West Alabama eventually closed the frame 25-12 on a kill from
Gracie Huver.
UWA used another extended run to put away the match in the third. Leading 9-7, the Tigers scored seven straight points behind Huver's serve to build a 16-7 advantage. UWA later stretched its lead to 21-9 before
Raven Grant's service ace completed another 25-12 victory and the sweep.
Korre finished with four aces, while Grant added three. Zanini,
Ola Winiarek and Bobánová each recorded multiple aces as UWA held a 14-3 advantage from the service line.
West Alabama 3, Henderson State 2
The Tigers faced a much different challenge in Friday's finale, needing five sets to knock off host Henderson State.
West Alabama produced 69 kills on 223 attempts and held an 18-kill advantage over the Reddies. UWA also finished with 118 digs, 65 assists, nine aces and five blocks.
Duru Seber led the Tiger offense with 16 kills while hitting .382. Bobánová followed with 15 kills, while Korre and
Jazlyn Snow each added 12.
Zanini orchestrated the offense with 52 assists and also collected 18 digs. Keef led the defensive effort with 32 digs, while Winiarek added 21.
West Alabama created separation late in the opening set. With the Tigers holding a 15-12 lead, UWA scored five consecutive points to extend the advantage to 20-12. Henderson State cut into the deficit, but Bobánová eventually ended the set with a kill for a 25-19 UWA victory.
The Reddies answered in the second. UWA trailed 21-16 before mounting a late charge, with consecutive Winiarek service aces pulling the Tigers within 21-20. Henderson State responded by taking the final four points for a 25-20 win to even the match.
West Alabama produced its best offensive set of the match in the third, recording 19 kills and hitting .326. The Tigers turned an 18-14 advantage into a 22-14 lead behind a late run and went on to claim the set 25-17.
Henderson State forced a deciding fifth set after surviving a UWA comeback in the fourth. The Tigers erased a six-point deficit and tied the frame at 23 before the teams exchanged points down the stretch. The Reddies eventually prevailed 27-25 to extend the match.
UWA quickly seized control of the fifth.
Seber opened the deciding frame with a kill before the Tigers raced out to a 7-1 lead. Henderson State battled back and eventually trimmed UWA's advantage to 13-10, but Snow answered with a kill to bring up match point.
Seber then delivered the final kill, sealing the 15-10 fifth-set victory and West Alabama's second win of the day.
The Tigers held Henderson State to a .146 hitting percentage for the match.
West Alabama will conclude play at the Reddie-Tiger Invitational on Saturday with two matches at the Sturgis Physical Education Center. The Tigers will face Texas A&M International at 10:30 a.m. before closing the weekend against Erskine at 4:30 p.m.
Following Saturday's action, UWA will return to Livingston for its home debut, hosting the UWA Invitational with matches scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday at Pruitt Hall.
